


The End of a New Beginning

by Space_Intrepid



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore, Dimension Travel, Evil Lucina (Fire Emblem), Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:00:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25572484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Space_Intrepid/pseuds/Space_Intrepid
Summary: Grima has returned and now Lucina is on the run once more.Timelines lay shattered in the wake of Grima's ascendance. The realms of Valentia and Archanea burn broken and ruled by Grima. Their legendary Hero-King and Hero of Prophecy defeated. And now, the realm of Fodlan lays in his sight.With the last of her power, Naga sends Lucina to find the Goddess Sothis and bring about the true and final defeat of the Fell Dragon.Unbeknownst to the Lucina, however, the Wings of Despair has plans of his own. And this time he won't be going down so easily.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

Rain fell incessantly as Lucina limped up the steps to the temple. She couldn’t keep up with Celica who had gone on ahead. At least the Queen of Valentia had been generous enough to provide a trail with her blood. Though, it was hard to tell if Celica’s blood had mixed in with Queen Caeda’s. 

With a grunt, Lucina reached the top of the steps and took a moment to catch her breath. The sound of fighting could be heard in the distance and was still ringing in her ears. After taking a deep breath, the former Princess of Ylisse trudged along to the blood of her allies. Off in the distance, she could spot Celica, fighting the Risen with her ancestor, Caeda. 

Even though the earlier battle had destroyed most of her armour, Lucina still discarded the rest. The broken pieces would just dig into her skin and the extra weight would slow her down. Right now, time was of the essence and Lucina needed all the speed she could get. It certainly helped that of all times, her sword, the legendary Falchion, felt weightless. It had been broken in half by Grima somehow during the battle earlier. A part of Lucina’s mind wondered if she was in this situation because she hesitated to strike at him. If he wasn’t inhabiting that body, then perhaps…

Lucina shook her head. This wasn’t the time to think about her mistakes. 

What had once been a temple to Mila, was now a ruin. It was full to the brim with bodies. First, when the Risen arrived, the temple became a sanctuary for refugees. Then when the Risen attacked the city, it became a hospital as well. But these people no longer needed medical help. Their bodies would become more manpower for Grima’s ever-growing army of Risen. 

“Watch out!” Celica called out. From the corner of her eye, Lucina saw one of the pillars holding up the caved-in ceiling begin to crumble. With gritted teeth, Lucina rushed forward as fast as possible. Her last vulnerary had been used before the fight with Grima. Now Lucina was wishing she just saved it for situations like this. In her rush to outrun the falling pillar, her foot caught on a pair of cracked tiling on the ground. Lucina fell forward. At that moment, she reached out with her hand on an overturned chair and kept herself upright and stumbled forward into the good arm of Princess Celica. 

Without wasting another moment, Lucina picked herself right up. “Thank you.” She said as Celica wiped away dust from her blood-stained clothes. The exiled princess looked back out into the distance. The rain clouds had multiplied and the sky was black and grey and purple. The sounds of fighting had died off for now. A chill surged down Lucina’s spine. Her right eye twitched. Even earlier in the morning, her brand was acting up. According to the Hero-King, it was glowing brightly, almost appearing to be silver or platinum. 

“We need to hurry. There’s no telling how much time we have left before Grima gets to Lady Naga.” Lucina nodded at Celica. “Alm and his knights should arrive soon to protect the entrance to her temple. Just in time for the ritual.” Celica’s eyes met Lucina’s. 

Both of them were in bad shape, but Celica more so. In the battle earlier Grima had taken her arm and permanently blinded her in one eye. Despite all those setbacks, Lucina was still surprised to see the princess still fighting against Grima’s forces defiantly.  _ I guess that’s the reason they call her Valentia’s Warrior Priestess.  _ A part of Lucina was still giddy at the thought of having had the chance to fight alongside one of her childhood idols. A legendary figure of the world’s history that she thought she would never have been able to meet, even with the prospect of time travel becoming a reality. 

Working with the Goddess Naga made many of Lucina’s hopes and dreams a reality. It was what allowed her to vanquish the nightmare that had been plaguing her and her friends for almost their entire life. And once the supposed final blow had been dealt, the immense weight upon Lucina’s shoulders never once lessened. Once the existence of the Outrealms was revealed to her, it only made her worries intensify. 

What if there were other versions of Grima in the Outrealms? Especially a version that was more powerful than the one she had faced in this reality. That wasn’t something she could just accept. But at the insistence of her father, now the Exalt, and her mother upon returning alive, Lucina decided to settle down in Ylisse. She would have become a roving mercenary, fighting against tyrannical rule all across the world. Or, at least that was the plan until the trio of Severa, Owain and Inigo left to go on an adventure. 

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It seemed to Lucina that she wasn’t the only feeling restless, however, as her brother Morgan begged to go with her on her journeys across the Outrealms. Part of Lucina wanted to stay, especially now that her infant self from this timeline was finally starting to walk. However, the threat of a more powerful version of Grima from another realm coming to invade this one was a terrifying thought. The more Lucina stayed in Ylisse the more her fears were growing. 

So despite her better side telling her to stay and prioritize family, Lucina decided to go out. Morgan came tagging along as well, but only for the first few Outrealms. He had an obligation to return for the birth of his present self and no doubt his wife, Nah, would be anxiously awaiting his return. But, for the moment, he and Lucina would be out hunting for dragons. 

Of course, Lucina should have seen what was coming.

The ground shook and the ceiling above creaked and began to crack. The sound of metal clanging, soldiers yelling and arrows being loosed reached Lucina’s ear. It was the roar of a dragon that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. 

“Hey!” Celica called out to her. The two of them had been walking down into the crypts of Mila’s Temple for the while now. “Pick up the pace Lucina. We’re almost to the ritual chamber. If we’re lucky there won’t be any Risen there.”

Lucina let out a laugh. “After last time, I won’t make the mistake of underestimating Queen Caeda and her Wing Spear.” Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, Celica grabbed one of the unlit torches from the wall and lit it up with a small flame. Lucina could see Celica grit her teeth at the sight of what was a pathetically small fire. 

When Lucina had first arrived in Valentia, thousands of years before her birth, the Warrior Priestess of Valentia was the first person she had met. Sure, Lucina had seen Celica’s einherjar in action, but nothing could compete with the real person. There was nothing in the world that was like seeing Celica’s magic for yourself. The sight of her Ragnarok Ω bursting out a plume of flame so massive it dwarfed any that the mages of the present could do. 

It seemed that the archives were incomplete as well, as very little of Celica’s swordsmanship was ever detailed. Only bits and pieces. While not as refined as her very potent magic, Celica could more than hold her own with a blade, and on several occasions had gotten the better of Lucina during their sparring sessions. 

But more than that, Celica truly lived up to one of the many titles the common had for her, The Caring Princess. Whereas every other person had looked upon Lucina with suspicion and doubt, Celica had done her fair share of vouching for Lucina with the only reason being that the Queen believed that Lucina was not a bad person. 

A loud battle cry rang out and echoed into the stairwell. At first, Lucina thought nothing of it. And then Celica’s ears twitched, her eyes widened and her head shot up as she turned on a dime to look up at the entrance of the staircase. She opened her mouth as if to speak, before closing it shut. The queen took a deep breath before looking towards Lucina. 

The Queen of Valentia held the torch out, her head-turning on a swivel to look over her shoulder. She bit her lip before shaking her head. “Take the torch. I’ll be right behind you. The ritual chamber should be just ahead. I’ll meet the two of you there.” Lucina nodded and began to trudge forward. 

Once she had reached the halfway mark, Lucina looked over her shoulder. Celica was looking up the staircase, her sword, the  _ Beloved Zofia  _ in her one good hand. The sound of fighting had intensified and it seemed had moved into the ruins of the temple. Celica looked over her shoulder and for one last time, in the grim darkness of the underbelly of Mila’s temple, their gazes met. Her lone red eye shone brightly amid the dim torchlight. 

With a burst of sudden energy, Lucina ran, reaching the end of the hallway in mere moments. Before entering the Ritual chamber, Lucina looked over her shoulder one last time to see Celica charging up the steps with a loud cry,  _ Beloved Zofia  _ burning with the flames of Ragnarok, cutting through an unending wave of Risen like a knife through butter. 

Lucina closed her eyes and entered the Ritual chamber. After closing the door shut, she grabbed a wooden bar propped up against the wall and moved so that it was blocking the door. Taking a quick breath, Lucina looked towards the centre of the ritual chamber. She spotted Caeda on one knee at the edge of an altar. 

There were numerous statues in the chamber. All of them appeared to have been statues of Mila if the similarity between the statues were anything to go by, with the only exception being the statue at the very centre. This one was a statue of Naga. And it towered over the statues of Mila. Its most striking feature was the shining crystal in the centre of her circlet. It was faint, but Lucina could see the brand of the Exalt etched into the surface. More than that, however, was the fact that the statue also had sapphires for eyes. The statue in general was radiating an aura around the room.

Caeda stood up from her spot. The Queen of Archanea stared for a moment at the spot beside Lucina. A sigh passed through her lips as she looked down at the cobblestone floor. With a deep breath, Caeda motioned for Lucina to follow her.

“Once the ritual begins I’m going back out there,” Caeda said, twirling her Wing Spear around. Even with multiple torn leg muscles, the former Princess of Talys was moving around the ritual chamber nimbly. 

“I’m sorry it had to lead to this,” Lucina muttered, stepping in front of Naga’s statue. “If only we had acted sooner.” 

“There’s no point in thinking about what happened.” Caeda’s lips curled into a small smile. She placed her hand on Lucina’s shoulder. It was black and charred from dragon fire. Her entire arm was like that after using it to shield a fallen child from being burned by Grima’s flames. “Do you still have Falchion?”

Lucina unsheathed it, holding the fang of Naga up. The tip of the blade had been broken off by Grima. A long crack ran down from the jagged edge to the guard. “It’s broken. Sorry, I was being careless.” Lucina coughed. Her throat was dry. Caeda gave her a look and sighed.

“When was the last time you drank water?” She asked, setting her Wing Spear down against the statue. The water flask she went to retrieve was resting on a haphazardly opened crate full of rusted and broken silver helmets. “Here, it’s my last one. But it may be the last time you get to drink water.”

A small laugh came from Lucina. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’m having the last drink of my life.” The broken blade began to glow brightly in conjunction with the gem on Naga’s pendant. “Huh. I guess you two have some history? She tapped the statue with the pommel of Falchion. Upon making contact, multiple glyphs formed surrounding the statue.

Lucina knelt, her head was pulsating intensely. She suddenly began to hear a female voice speaking to hear faintly as if speaking through a wall. The muffled voice sounded like Naga. But as far as she knew, that shouldn’t have been possible. Especially considering Naga herself said that doing so would’ve alerted Grima of her location. Lucina felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head to find Caeda right behind her. 

“You all right? Can’t have you passing out before the ritual.” 

“I’m fine,” Lucina mumbled, a hand on her head. The intense pulsating only intensified. To make matters worse, the sound of fighting had reached the outside of the chamber, if the strength of Celica’s screams of fury were anything to go by. “We need to hurry. We need to start the ritual now-WOAH!” 

The blue-haired princess fell forward, nearly face-planting into the ground if not for the timely intervention of her ancestor. Caeda held onto a fallen statue of Mila as the room began to shake. Almost all of the statues in the room crumbled. The cobblestone floor cracked and split asunder. The walls began to cave in. 

_ Lucina, get close to the statue. _

Opening her eyes, Lucina saw that the statue of Naga was still standing, a blue barrier had formed around it. She let out another yelp as Caeda pushed her into the bubble formed by the statue. 

“Lady Caeda?” 

The Queen of Archanea gripped her Wing Spear tightly as the door to the chamber burst open. She looked over her shoulder and flashed Lucina the smile that stole the Hero-King’s heart. “Trust in Naga.”

_ Listen carefully to what I have to say, Lucina. _

_ “ _ Lady Naga?” Lucina muttered as she watched Caeda and Celica go back to back, the Wing Spear a blur as it tore through scores of Risen,  _ Beloved Zofia  _ burning with the flames of Ragnarok as it cut down everything in its path. 

_ I don’t have much time. Grima has found me. I fear this will be the last time we will speak Lucina. _

A hitch formed in Lucina’s throat. 

Celica cried out as one of the Risen lunged past her defence and tore a chunk out of her shoulder. She retaliated by severing its head. Across from her Caeda flung her Wing Spear through a multitude of Risen.

“I…What do you mean? I thought that you were stronger than Grima because we’re in the past?” Lucina exclaimed. Both Caeda and Celica were now being pushed back.

_ I’m afraid that’s not the case anymore. Grima has usurped the power of Valentia’s gods. I can no longer sense neither Mila nor Duma’s dragon stones anymore.  _

_ “ _ What about the Grima of this timeline? What happened to him?”

There was a pause. 

A sudden sharp pain flared in Lucina’s eye. 

“Lucina!” Celica cried out. “Your eye!” The Warrior Priestess cut through two more Risen and immediately, four more took their place and were burned to a crisp. 

It felt as if someone had taken a needle and jammed it into her eye. An intense burning sensation coursed. Through her body as Lucina was brought to her knees. She felt blood drip down from her eye to her knee. The vision in her right eye began to blacken with every blink. 

“Lady Naga?” Lucina’s voice was barely above a whisper. She dropped Falchion. Just touching even the handle was like touching molten hot metal. The blade was glowing a blinding white as the broken edges began to rapidly repair itself. 

_ It seems… _ Naga’s voice trailed off and the dragon goddess coughed violently. To Lucina, it was as if she was coughing out blood.  _ I’m sorry Lucina. This will be the last thing I’ll be able to do for you.  _

The vision in Lucina’s right eye was entirely gone. She could see all the dead Risen stand up once more and surround Caeda and Celica. Both monarchs were keeled over, covered in blood and sweat. A crack had formed on the edges of  _ Beloved Zofia _ . The Wing Spear was on its last legs, the tip of the blade had chipped away and the numerous cracks in it were flowing with the dark fluid from the Risen.

_ When you wake up Lucina… _ Another coughing fit.  _ Find the Beginning. Find Sothis. Lucina, you are the last hope of not just this realm, but all realms.  _

_ “ _ Sothis…” Lucina muttered. That wasn’t a name that Lucina recognized. It certainly didn’t belong to any of the legends that she’d read about or been told about. “Who…?”

_ Once you find her, your path, and Grima’s defeat, will be clear.  _

Lucina fell onto her backside. The ceiling of the ritual chamber had caved in allowing Lucina to see the horrific sky outside. It was that ugly demonic purple that Grima associated himself with. A dark purple mass swirled above. 

Behind her, the statue of Naga began to glow an even brighter blue. The crystal in her pendant had floated off of its secure position and had wandered to just above Lucina’s chest. For a second it floated there. Lucina’s eyes were transfixed and at that moment it was as if there was nothing else in the world. No apocalyptic dragon to tear apart the landscape. No unending army of the undead that only seemed to be growing larger. No pressure to be the hero of reality. 

And then the crystal embedded itself into Lucina’s chest.

Vision returned to her right eye once more and she immediately sat straight up. A blue beam originating from the statue blasted a void right where the swirling black mass had been. Lucina looked down at her arms to discover that she was covered in a blue glow. More importantly, Falchion lay at her feet, completely repaired. 

“I…” Lucina swallowed. “I bid you farewell lady Celica, lady Caeda.” Their bodies were caught underneath a mountain of Risen, clawing and tearing at each other to get a piece of the royals. “I promise you that your sacrifice won’t be in vain.”

Getting up on one knee, the memory of traversing time once again returned. When Lucina first traveled back in time, she only ever expected to do so once. She never imagined having to do it again, let alone a third time. She only hoped that this would be the last time she would ever have to do so. 

The pulsating of her head was no longer in effect. Her body slowly became transparent as the environment around her began to slowly fade away. Lucina closed her eyes.

When Lucina opened them again, she was greeted with the smooth white clouds and the unfamiliar landscape hundreds of meters below her as she plummeted to the earth. 

She could only sigh at that. 

* * *

To think that he would find no joy in the death of his greatest nemesis was something that Grima did not expect. It was not out any pity or sadness that he felt no joy at the death of the dragon goddess Naga. Rather, he felt that she did not suffer enough before ultimately dying. The body of the old divine dragon lay on the ground. Chrom’s appropriated Falchion pinned her to the ground. 

Moments before her death, Grima could feel Naga communicating with someone. It was most likely that annoyance from the future. Regardless of her interference, Grima had succeeded. Naga was dead. Archanea was now his to control. But for what? He had gloated over and over again to both his braindead zealots and Naga that there would be no one better to rule the world than he. But now that he could finally sit on the throne and claim his rightful place, he felt a sudden emptiness. 

All his life, he had chased this one moment. And now he was wanting more. 

Grima had known about the existence of the Outrealms. He hadn’t paid them any attention. It wouldn’t at all help him with his goal to bring the apocalypse upon the world. However, he was naive about the potential it had.

The power of the divine dragon siblings Mila and Duma was but a pittance compared to his own. However, the surge in power he had after absorbing their power was intoxicating. The mere act of subsuming them into his person brought about a feeling of ecstasy that he could not describe. Grima only knew that he needed more. 

_ Geez, you’re laying it on a little thick don’t you think? _

The Wings of Despair sighed and rolled his eyes. Why he ever agreed to split control between himself and his host was beyond him.  _ And yet with me, you’ve accomplished more than you ever would have.  _

“You can take over once I’m done with the divine dragon.” Grima walked over to her corpse. Part of him was miffed that she had died using the last of her power to save Lucina. Another part of him felt slighted that he did not deal the final blow to his life long nemesis. Regardless of how she died and the part he played, Naga was now dead. He grabbed the corrupted Falchion and a smile slowly appeared on his face.

A full-on grin erupted as he stabbed her again, and again and again. Grima stabbed Naga’s corpse a total of 20 times before he finally stopped. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Off in the distance, he could hear his army of Risen marching across the countryside. 

“Now then...for years Naga, you’ve been a thorn in my side.” Grima began. He crouched down until he could see her lifeless eyes. “I was under the impression that you were supposed to be the most powerful of all the dragons. And yet you barely put up a fight against me. And don’t tell me that the combined power of those useless dragon siblings made that much of a difference.” He grabbed Naga by the back of her head and slammed it back down into the ground. The mossy, overgrown stone tiles split asunder and the remains of the ancient temple they had fought in began to collapse if they had not already. 

“You know Naga, you’re more arrogant than you believe yourself to be,” Grima said, kicking her corpse into a fallen pillar. “To believe that a group of children would’ve been able to fully kill me was a move purely motivated by your arrogance. And now look where you are. Our positions have been flipped. Now I stand at the top of the pyramid, while you, the great divine dragon, has become one of the faceless corpses to be trampled on. Oh, how the mighty have fallen!” Grima felt his eye twitch. Most of Naga’s clothes had lost the shine and glow they had when she was alive. All but that cursed circlet. The crystal at its centre was pulsating. With a growl, Grima tore the circlet off of Naga’s head and used his dragon fire to melt it down to molten gold. 

“Another mark of your arrogance. To continue to mock me, even in death. I thought that was above you.” Grima spat out as Naga’s body fell face-first into the puddle of gold. “Ah, but I seem to be getting carried away here. Despite our differences old Naga, I acknowledge your power.” He squatted beside her body. He held his hand out, just above the small of the back. 

That point of Naga’s body began to glow blue. “I acknowledge your power so much that it doesn’t belong to someone like you. It belongs to someone who can use it to its full potential. It needs someone better than one who would rather have the mortals do their bidding. Someone with grand ambitions for the world.”

_ Like you? _

“Hmph, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Grima muttered. The blue glow had collected in his hand and formed into a blue orb. “Eh, Is this it? Is this all the power the mighty divine dragon had to offer? I’m disappointed, but I guess that’s what old age will do to you.” Grima regarded the orb with disdain but held it above his mouth and squeezed. 

Blue droplets of pure magical energy poured down his throat. Grima swallowed. Immediately his eyes shot open and he doubled over. Grima’s gaze went to the arm holding the orb. The magical energy in that one little squeeze was more than enough to send the Fell Dragon to his knees. A hungry look formed on Grima’s face as he shoved the entire orb into his mouth. 

The result was a feeling of ecstasy that the Fell Reincarnation would never have expected to feel. The pleasure of a kind beyond anything any mortal would be able to feel coursed through his body. Grima began to laugh. His laugh echoed throughout the ruined temple as a saintly blue aura formed around his body. 

Lost in the pleasure of power, Grima began to absentmindedly float. His destructive aura appeared and merged with the blue aura of Naga’s in a deadly dance before the deep purple devoured the angelic azure of Naga’s power. As Naga’s power finally settled in Grima’s own, his body stiffened in mid-air and he plummeted to the ground. 

A massive burst of energy erupted, rising to the sky. Streams of magical energy exited from Grima’s every facial orifice. Stray blasts of magical energy were flying throughout the ruined Valentian countryside, creating explosions that surpassed that of even the most powerful magic spells. A few strays crashed into the ocean, creating monstrous waves that would swallow entire countries whole.

All the while Grima’s laughter echoed all across the world.

Once the outburst of energy was over, Grima’s closed his eyes. “Okay. You can have fun now. I’ll be taking a long nap. Don’t wake me up.”

A silence came over the ruined temple, save for the occasional crumbling pillars. 

“Are you awake now,” A voice called out. “Morgan?” 

Morgan opened his eyes and sat up straight. He looked towards the direction of the voice. It came from just outside the temple. He dusted off his coat and stood up straight. “I believe so. It seems that Grima had a little too much fun there. But, not to worry. He’ll be sleeping for a while.” 

A figure stood at the entrance of the temple, leaning against one of the only intact pillars. Their short messy blue hair was covered with bloodstains, as were the parts of their face not covered in a mask. The black spear in her right hand was dripping with blood. In her left was the Falchion used by Valentia’s Saint-King, also dripping with blood.

A smile formed on Morgan’s face. The woman took off her mask. “I see you had fun then, Lucina.”

“Of course.” She said. “Though Valentia's Hero of Prophecy proved to be a bit of a disappointment. A shame I wasn’t able to catch my future self before she got sent off by Naga. I would’ve loved to break her once more.” Lucina the Younger laughed, sheathing the Valentian Falchion. 

“Don’t worry. You’ll get your chance.” Lucina’s purple brand twinkled as she looked towards Morgan. “By the way, the Risen today seemed to be craving flesh more than usual. Is that your doing?”

A smirk formed on Morgan’s face. “Of course. The Risen of old were rather dull if I could be honest. Once the initial shock of their existence wore they simply just became another faceless opponent for the heroes of the world to cut down in droves.” Off the distance, he could see the base that the Grimleal had set up, their hundreds of tents dotting the horizon. “So I made a few modifications. You know, make the Risen feel undead. Make people fear them. And what did you think?”

She bared her fangs in a smile. “Very nice, if not a little too enthusiastic for my taste. But I guess that’s the point isn’t it?”

The Fell Vessel nodded in agreement.“On a side note, It seems that Naga is hell-bent on the concept of time travel. And also hell-bent on stopping us from expanding our conquest.”

Lucina the Younger scoffed. “She can try. She’ll fail.”

“She’s also dead. No longer our problem.”

“Yes, I understand that.” The younger girl held up her spear in the sunlight, inspecting it. “Regardless, we still have another pest to deal with. It seems that my future self has quite a knack for escaping the scythe of death.”

“She does indeed. And for that I commend her. However, as far as she knows, she is the last of her world. Or at least, the last that we know of.” Morgan said as the two siblings traversed the ruins of Valentia’s capital. “Our scouts have yet to find that trio. It is quite perplexing.”

“I doubt that those three would be much of a problem.” The traitorous princess responded as the two of them reached a tent in the middle of their Grimleal encampment. Most of Grima’s zealots had died in the battle against the combined armies of Archanea and Valentia. In the end, however, that just gave more fodder to the Risen Army. So in the end, their deaths didn’t matter. 

Morgan hummed as he sat down in front of a table. His sister stood to the side. There was a hastily drawn map laid out in front of them. The Grimleal that presented the map bowed and vanished from the tent as quickly as he had been in there. 

It was meant to be their sleeping quarters, but as it turns out, the Fell Dragon does not need to sleep and Lucina was barely there in the first place. The only things within the tent itself were the unopened crates, a few chairs, and the table. Aside from a few weapons, the tent was essentially devoid of anything else. 

“So this is the updated map of the Outrealms then?” Morgan muttered, placing a finger over their current location. “According to Naga’s memories, she sent our old friend Lucina the Elder to a realm with a continent called Fodlan.”

Lucina the Younger frowned. “Never heard of it.”

“Neither have I, but it seems that our scouts have only just discovered its location,” Morgan said, his finger tracing a line to said realm. “It’s a complete unknown, a place of mystery. It excites me. But alas preparations must first be made for my arrival. Such is the consequence of having a main body larger than an entire city. So in my stead, you shall you go first, Lucina.”

The Princess of Betrayal smirked and her branded eye seemed to glow even brighter. “I’ll make sure to leave a good impression. I suppose you don’t just want me to conquer the whole place do you?”

“No of course not,” Morgan said, standing and rolling the map up. “That would be no fun. I want you to establish an intelligence network there to prepare for the arrival of our armies. But more importantly, I want you to find our dear big sister. That takes priority. She has been a thorn in our side for far too long and while she is family, well that didn’t stop dear old mom and dad from being executed did it?”

“Of course. Once I find her I’ll let you know.”

“Don’t hurt her too much. There is still a chance she could join us.” 

The younger scoffed. “She won’t.” 

Morgan stood up, his purple eyes glowing amid the dimly lit tent, a smile amid his deathly pale face. “Then find someone there who will. Find someone there who hates the so-called gods of the realm as much as we hated Naga.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always been intrigued by the idea of someone like Lucina turning to the dark side. It occurred to me that the Lucina from the future would never really betray her friends and family as it would betray everything that she's fought for. On the other hand, the Lucina of the present is much more malleable and corruptable. And watching the rather underwhelming Will Smith movie "Gemini Man", I was hit with the idea of Old vs. New. 
> 
> To differentiate the two Lucina's, the one from the future will be called "Lucina the Elder", whilst the present timeline Lucina will be called "Lucina the Younger".


	2. Chapter 2

As the Eagles trudged along the dirt path on the way back to the Monastery, Edelgard couldn’t shake off the feeling of dread she’d had since the morning. She had for sure thought that it had something to do with their mission at the Red Canyon. But, the feeling never once left. That dream of hers kept replaying in her mind. 

It was haunting to see herself in that sort of state. Covered in mysterious purple markings with her deathly pale, skin peeling off like volcanic ash raining from the skies. Black markings covered her doppelgänger from head to toe. But most striking of all were her eyes. In the place of Edelgard’s lilac eyes was an oppressive, almost hypnotizing purple. More than that however was the brand in the centre of both eyes. It called to her. 

Edelgard reached out to touch her deformed counterpart. A roar erupted and from the depths of the abyss behind her doppelgänger came some sort of beast. A monstrous being so large that it blotted out the sun. Its wings stretched from one end of the horizon to the other, and a mouth that could swallow mountains. 

In the false Edelgard’s hands was not the axe that Lord Arundel had begun making for her. Instead, within her other self’s grasp was a scythe that was longer than she was tall. The blade seemed to be made of a sort of bony metal. It was unlike any relic that Edelgard had seen before. The deep purple veins running along both the blade and the extravagantly long and gnarled handle glowed and pulsated.

“ _Avenge me…”_

The moment those words left the apparition’s mouth, Edelgard’s blood ran cold. It certainly wasn’t her voice that said those words. Edelgard was 100% certain that a human being couldn’t possibly produce anything that sounded remotely like that. It was deep and guttural. The vibrations of the voice caused her to shiver. Just the mere act of hearing it made the hair on the back of Edelgard’s neck stand up. 

The inhuman doppelgänger of herself began to make its way towards her. Edelgard simply stood in place, her legs unable to move even the slightest bit. She simply stared in horror as the horrifically ashen and crumbling hands of her double placed themselves on her cheeks. Even if she wanted to, Edelgard couldn’t look away from the deep purple eyes of her counterpart as they stared deep into her soul. The doppelgänger leaned in forward until her mouth was directly beside Edelgard’s ear.

“ _Avenge them…”_ It whispered. Edelgard gasped, a sharp pain coursed through her body as her ashen counterpart began to merge with herself. “ _Do not forget what they did to us.”_ Edelgard blinked and for a moment, the barren, apocalyptic wasteland was replaced by that of her old family castle back in Enbarr. The haunting faces of her dead siblings flashed before her eyes before immediately transitioning back to that dead hellscape. 

Her grim counterpart was gone. The massive beast that engulfed the horizon had grown to completely encompass her field of view. Its wings were the size of mountains, with eyes larger than the great cities of Enbarr and Fhirdiad. A mouth so massive it could devour small islands of the Brigid Archipelago. The land around her burned eternally, the flames rising so high that the clouds were that of smoke. 

What caught Edelgard’s eye however was the ruins of Garreg Mach in the distance. The massive outer walls had been somehow burned down and were still in flames. Also burning was the town just inside the walls. Garreg Mach’s monastery walls were blackened from fire, the towers overseeing the mountainous landscape had toppled, crashing down into the town below. 

Edelgard felt a lump form in her throat at the sight of not just the ruins, but the bodies. A long trail of corpses led from Garreg Mach to her feet. Staring straight up at her was Hubert. His eyes gone, in their place, were deformed, pus-filled maggots writhing in his eye sockets. Large, bloated flies peppered his decomposing corpse. Vultures pecked at his body with large chunks already taken out of his torso. Prominently displayed on Hubert’s lifeless body was that same brand she had seen earlier.

For a moment, Edelgard stood there, unable to move. She stared at Hubert’s body and muttered a silent goodbye to him. 

A loud buzzing noise flared against Edelgard’s ears. She fell to her knees, gripping her head. Her eyes opened to see Hubert’s body rise and lunge towards her. 

Reality warped and Edelgard felt her body being stretched and torn apart. Time slowed down to a crawl.

“Edelgard. Wake up. It’s morning.” 

Byleth had woken her up that morning with Hubert staring disapprovingly and worried. 

Now a few hours later, the Eagles were just a day’s hike away from returning to Garreg Mach. Even if Edelgard had wanted to share what she had dreamt, she would never do so. After all, a dream is a dream. Nothing more, nothing less. The monastery was a military fortress masquerading as a holy site. It had more heavily armoured knights and powerful mages than most of the Empire’s forts and castles. For it to fall in such a way was inconceivable

The walls surrounding the monastery themselves were as wide and heavily protected as some of the Empire’s bigger cities. Not to mention the fact that the Knights of Seiros themselves are one of Fodlan’s best fighting forces. And with the addition of the Jeralt’s mercenaries, Edelgard could see no conceivable way for a conventional army to cause such ruin to Garreg Mach unless that army was had more manpower than the defenders of Garreg Mach could handle. 

For a moment, Edelgard stopped. There was something in the air that just felt wrong. Edelgard couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. Blue skies and a fantastic breeze. Not too windy that it was cold, but just enough that the heat of the sun was canceled out. There hadn’t been any problems with the convoy and to her surprise, Linhardt himself had gotten up earlier than she had. Well, she was more surprised that he woke up on his own volition at all. 

And yet, Edelgard still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. It wasn’t even that her dream still was stuck in her mind, it was just that Edelgard’s instincts were telling her that something big was coming. 

“Are you alright Edelgard?”

“I’m alright. Thank you for asking, my teacher.” The future princess turned her head to meet Byleth in the eyes. “I just have this feeling that won’t go away.” The Ashen Demon nodded. “So you’ve felt it too I see.” 

“Should we postpone the trip back to Garreg Mach for the day then, Lady Edelgard?” Hubert voiced, appearing from behind a tree. His eyes darted around the clearing the convoy had stopped at. “If both of you are having just misgivings about the day then perhaps it would be best to take a break until that feeling is gone.”

“There’s no need for that Hubert. We can make it back to the Monastery by midday tomorrow if we keep up our current pace.” Edelgard said, raising her head. “That being said, it would be prudent to take a short break before continuing along.” Her gaze shot back to the professor. “If such an action is fine with you, my teacher.” 

Byleth thought for a moment, his head resting on his hand. He looked up to meet Edelgard’s eyes. “Yes. Take a break for now. We continue in half an hour.”

The Eagles had a collective sigh as they dropped their heavy baggage and slumped to the ground. They’d been walking since dawn and due to one of the carts breaking down, had to pitch in and carry more of the load in addition to what they were already carrying. 

Linhardt dropped his bags and immediately slumped over, his eyes closed. Not too far behind him, Caspar sat down against a nearby tree as he shrugged off the bags he was lugging behind him. Edelgard could spot Bernadetta’s purple tufts from behind a bush as she collapsed to her stomach, letting out a sigh of relief. 

Petra slowly let the crate she was holding down to the ground before she sat down against it. Just to her right, Ferdinand dropped his personal luggage in addition to the large barrel of fruit he had offered to carry. 

A loud crash reverberated throughout the forest. Immediately, all of the Eagles were alert. 

“Alright, settle down everyone.” The Professor called out. “Just a rotten tree falling over. Not too big a deal.” 

Everyone nodded and went back to whatever it is that they were doing.

“Seems like everyone just wants to get back to their own room right, Edie? Especially when we're somehow on edge after just a tree falling.” The Adrestian Heir turned to face Dorothea. “You look like you couldn’t sleep tonight. I guess that’s why even Linhardt woke up earlier than you did today.” The songstress let out a small laugh as Edelgard felt the heat in her cheeks rise. 

“That was ill-fitting for the future Emperor of Adrestia. But I assure you that such a thing won’t be happening again.”

“And I’m telling you to stop being so formal with me, Edie.” Dorothea’s cheeks puffed up into a pout. “But, if you’re having any problems, you know you can always come to me, right?” 

“Of course, but there will no need for that as of right now. I’m fine.” 

“If you are fine as you, do you mind coming with me then?” Byleth said from behind them. Edelgard turned to see their professor. “I thought I saw something out in the forest and would like to investigate. Of course, I’d do it myself, but in case something goes wrong I’d want you to back me up and get help.”

Edelgard nodded. “Of course, my teacher. I’ll be with you in a moment.” She gave Dorothea a look and the singer gave a goofy smile before wandering off to Petra’s side. 

With a small sigh, Edelgard dropped the bag she was holding to the ground. Almost immediately, Hubert picked it up and placed it on top of the crate he had been carrying. 

“Not to worry Lady Edelgard. I’ll be watching over the convoy whilst you and the professor investigate whatever it is that he had spotted.”

“Of course. Be prepared for anything Hubert.” Edelgard said as Hubert handed her the iron axe she had used against the bandits a few days earlier. For a moment Edelgard eyed the axe. It was most definitely on its last legs. The leather wrapping around the handle had gotten worn down from her grip. Bits and pieces of the wooden shaft itself had begun to split and splinter. Its axe head was chipped in a few places. Edelgard gave the axe a few test swings.

“If you wish, Lady Edelgard, I could find you a new axe.” 

“No need Hubert. This will do for now.” She lowered the axe and then unsheathed her dagger. “Besides, I have this with me as well.”

“Will that be enough?”

Edelgard shot her retainer a look. “It would be the last resort. I imagine I’d have no other use choice if I have to. But to answer your question, Hubert, yes. It will be enough.” She sheathed the dagger and ran a hand through her hair. “Now, if you would excuse me, the professor is waiting.” Her ever-thoughtful retainer nodded and moved aside. 

Just ahead of the convoy, Edelgard spotted Byleth at the edge of the pathway. He was kneeling on the ground. Once Byleth saw Edelgard approaching, he stood up, nodded and headed into the forest. 

“I thought I saw someone going through the forest.” He said, jumping over a fallen log. “Some blood trails were leading into this part of the forest. A few broken twigs, some stepped on plants, footprints on the foliage.” He continued, helping her up and over the log. 

“Is it an enemy?”

“Not sure. The figure is most certainly female though.” Byleth said, kneeling. Edelgard leaned forward, her hands on her knees as she watched her professor analyze the soil. “Yeah, definitely female. Wearing boots. See these markings? Look like boot tracks. They’re too light for a heavier set male.” 

“How do you know it isn’t a child?”

“Too big to be a child, but too small to be a male. Furthermore, the distance between the footprints is indicative of a gait belong to that a female.” Byleth said. “However, it seems that this girl also appears to be walking with a limp. See here?” He squatted over the remains of a stepped-on plant by a mossy, overgrown tree stump. “Looks like they stumbled at the point and fell into the tree stump. See that parts of the stump look like the dust on it was removed in a very sloppy manner.” 

Edelgard studied the tree closely and saw something that caught her eye. She reached out and grabbed a piece of torn cloth with a few hair follicles. Holding it up to her eye Edelgard hummed. “Hm, you’re right.” She frowned. “It looks more like she fell onto the stump rather than stumbled into it.” 

“Is that so?” Byleth muttered. He walked back towards the trail before calling out back to Edelgard. “Yeah, there's a second set of footprints here. Looks like this person wandered out onto the path before doubling back into the forest.” 

“Shall we follow them then?” Edelgard’s axe felt heavy. Her dagger felt heavy. For some reason, as she and the professor followed the tracks deeper into the forest, Edelgard couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.

Byleth stopped in his tracks just in front of her. They were stopped in front of a large rock. Just ahead was a clearing in the forest. The Ashen Demon turned to look at Edelgard. He pointed at his ears and then to his mouth, chest and then nose.

 _Breathing._ Edelgard thought to herself. She closed her eyes and listened closely. 

_Huff…Huff…Huff….augh…_

Edelgard’s eyes shot open. It was faint, but it was there. Deep, arrhythmic breathing. Very strained, almost like the person was struggling to just inhale. She looked at the professor. His eyes were closed. 

“Edelgard, head over to the other side of the clearing.” He whispered. “Make sure to keep yourself hidden. On my signal, we both enter the clearing. Do not alert whoever is there to our presence. They may attempt to run away despite their condition.” 

The Scion of Adrestia nodded and began to make her way around. Being careful not to step on any twigs or stumble, Edelgard began to hear the unknown figure muttering something to herself. Something about nagging? Regardless, after a few near hiccups, Edelgard found herself pressed against a tree just across from where Byleth was. She took a peek and found the professor laying on top of the rock.

By now the clouds had rolled in and thunder rumbled, though it had yet to rain. Byleth raised his head and met Edelgard’s gaze. _Can you see them?_ He mouthed. Edelgard nodded.

Byleth then raised 3 fingers. 

He lowered 1 finger. Edelgard peered around the corner just a bit more. The girl was leaning against a wall. She wore primarily blue. Laying on her lap was a rather unique looking sword. The base of the blade almost looked like a teardrop before tapering off into the blade. 

Another finger lowered. 

Edelgard was nearly entirely around the corner whilst Byleth had rolled off of the rock. She could nearly see all of the mysterious girl's form. Her right leg was very clearly broken. The ankle was swollen and twisted whilst Edelgard could see parts of her tibia poking through her torn pant leg. Another part of her appearance that stood out to Edelgard was the small strip of white in her otherwise blue hair. 

Byleth formed a fist. The Adrestian heir rounded the tree and stood up in the clearing. She felt a lump form in her throat. She could see Byleth slow down before stopping just beside her. 

The girl was in a much worse state than Edelgard could have imagined. While her right leg was entirely broken, her left wasn’t too far off either. Her kneecap looked like it collapsed in on itself as she stumbled into the tree she was leaning against. Her right arm was bruised and blackened with numerous cuts and her left was horrifically burned. Edelgard had no idea how this girl was alive, let alone how she managed to walk into this clearing with all those injuries. 

Perhaps it had something to do with the glowing crystal embedded into the girl’s chest. It was a bright blue glow so bright that it was overpowering the rays of the sun in the surrounding clearing. 

The girl opened her eyes. Immediately Edelgard was struck by the brand in the girl’s right eye. A teardrop above stylized crescent. 

Byleth rushed into action. “Edelgard, vulnerary.” The Adrestian princess reached into her pouch and handed the professor one of her 3 remaining vulneraries. She shook her head and gave him the rest. Their new acquaintance would be needing all the help she could help. 

“Should I get Linhardt?”

“W-wait…” The girl muttered. Her shaking fingers latched onto Byleth’s sleeve. 

“Just wait miss, you’ll be stabilized in just a moment,” Byleth responded. “Now, if you would please drink this vulnerary-”

“Sothis…Are you…Are you Sothis?” She muttered. Edelgard wasn’t sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she could’ve sworn that Byleth’s eyes widened, if only for just a moment. His grip turned stiff and for a moment, Edelgard swore he looked like he forgot to breathe. “Message…Naga…” And then the girl’s eyes closed. Byleth closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before his head sharply turned and addressed Edelgard. His eyes were smouldering and she could very clearly see that there was a bit of fear in them. 

“Linhardt. Now.” Edelgard swallowed as she stared at Byleth. He carefully leaned the mystery girl’s head back and slowly poured the vulnerary in through her bruised and bloody lips “Did I stutter Edelgard? Get Linhardt here now!” 

Breaking out into a sprint back to the convoy, Edelgard couldn’t help but shiver as she noted the complete uncertainty in Byleth’s voice. 

“Who is Naga? Who is Sothis?” 

As Linhardt arrived and had the girl stabilized, that was all that Edelgard could think about. As the mystery girl was placed into one of their carriages, that was the only thought running through Edelgard’s mind. 

That sense of dread she had felt had come back full force as the towers of Garreg Mach appeared in the distance. 


	3. Chapter 3

There was a part of Byleth that wanted to leave the girl in that clearing the moment she mentioned Sothis. Though, for some reason, the aforementioned goddess was screaming at him to get her to Garreg Mach as soon as possible. Perhaps it was out of pity, or something more. The girl inside his head didn’t know why, but she said that the brand in the girl’s right eye was rather familiar to her. 

Immediately after arriving at Garreg Mach, he had taken the girl to the infirmary. At first, Byleth would rather have had someone else bring her to the infirmary, but Sothis insisted that he be the one to do it. Once Manuela had confirmed to him that their mystery patient was stable and would live, Byleth was off to report to Rhea. 

But for the moment, the professor of the Black Eagles stood nearby the monastery’s fishing pond. His fatigued students all but collapsed into their beds the moment they arrived in the Monastery at the break of dawn. No rest throughout the night as a storm raged. Byleth was used to much worse treks, but it was rather apparent to him that his students would need some work in that area.

“Maybe I’ll make them carry their own weight’s worth of luggage whenever we go out for field training…” He muttered to himself.

“Ouch teach. Sounds kind of rough.” Byleth didn’t even flinch as Claude appeared to his right, standing just behind him. “Looks like you and the Eagles had some fun. A shame the Deer couldn’t have come along for the show.” 

“I thought about lobbying such a thought to Lady Rhea, but ultimately stashed the idea for another time,” Byleth responded.

Claude let out a small chuckle. “How thoughtful of you.” There was a slight pause before Claude continued. “I heard you came across someone out there. Almost dead she looked like. At least, that’s what Hilda said.”

“And you believed her?”

“Hilda’s lazy. Not a liar.” 

“Fair enough.” Byleth stood up. “But to answer your question, yes, she was essentially on death’s door.”

The Scion of Riegan let out a whistle. “Well, I’ll be. How often is it that a chivalrous hero like you comes across a damsel in distress like that? Not often. If at all. Sounds like it came just out of a story.” 

Byleth rolled his eyes. “Whatever it is you want to say, Claude, just say it.”

“Well, I dunno teach. Looks and sounds kind of suspicious don’t you think? You suddenly find a girl out in the middle of nowhere after such an important mission. Not to mention that she looks like she doesn’t at all belong in this world, let alone Fodlan.”

“Claude, I think you’re overthinking this,” Byleth said. “Coincidences happen. Not everything is part of some grand plan or scheme.”

The leader of the Golden Deer shrugged. “I guess you could say that. But, my gut feeling is telling there’s more to this than meets the eye. Anyways, I’ll see you around teach.” He called out, walking towards the dining hall. 

For a while more, Byleth stood at the edge of the pond. He sighed as he spotted one of the Knights of Seiros walking towards him.

“Lady Rhea awaits your report, Professor.” Byleth nodded. He rolled his neck and stretched his fingers. 

That was right. He had to give the Archbishop a report on what happened. He just hoped that there wouldn’t be too much trouble caused by what had happened. 

After making his way to the Archbishop’s chamber, Byleth stood in front of the green-haired duo of Seteth and Rhea as he went on and on about their mission to Zanado, the Red Canyon and the bandits. Byleth wanted to comment on the peculiar ruins that adorned the area but kept silent. Once he finished his report, Seteth coughed and stared at him, whilst Rhea had a small smile on her face that betrayed the cold look in her eyes.

“Isn’t there anything else, you have to report, Professor?” Rhea’s voice reverberated throughout the audience chamber. “I’ve heard from Flayn that you were seen bringing in a mortally wounded woman into the infirmary. I would hope that it was not one of your students.” 

“She wasn’t.” Byleth shrugged. “That being said, her situation was peculiar I would like to say.” He had lied to Edelgard when he said he saw the girl crossing the path. In her state, such a thing would’ve been impossible. After all, how often do you see someone fall from the sky? If Byleth had to hazard a guess, the thick foliage of the forest prevented his students from seeing her fall happen. 

“Peculiar how?” Seteth said, tapping his clipboard before setting it down. “While I appreciate your generosity, bringing in outsiders to Garreg Mach is not something you can just do without speaking to us first!”

“It is fine, Seteth.” Rhea waved her hand at him. Her chief aide sighed and rubbed his forehead. “What Byleth did was out of a genuine desire to help someone in mortal danger. Regardless of how he went about achieving such, it was done in good nature and as such, I cannot chastise him too much. Especially considering how close the girl was to death, as I have heard.”

“You said that her situation was peculiar, yes?” Seteth reiterated. “Other than her condition, what could so peculiar that you would mention separately to us.”

“Well, there is the fact that I saw her plummet drop the sky from a blue portal.” Seteth’s mouth widened as he stared at Byleth. Rhea’s eyes widened as she split her intertwined fingers. “And the fact that no one else seemed to notice was odd to me. Though I suspect there would’ve been much more of a reaction had she not grabbed onto the nearby tree to break her fall at least somewhat.”

“A blue portal you say?” Rhea asked, sounding like she had just found her voice after losing it in a well. “What do you mean by that?” 

“Like, a blue portal,” Byleth replied. “Looked kind of like a glyph you’d see from a spell, but more viscous, like a blue smoky liquid.” 

Rhea and Seteth shared a look. “Was there anything else that looked out of place to you?”

Byleth put a hand up to his cheek and began to absentmindedly tap it with a finger. “Yeah, she had a glowing crystal in her chest. I think that may have had something to do with her survival. It looked like it was providing some sort of skin-covering barrier.”

“Anything more?” Rhea said, now standing up and making her way towards Byleth.

“She had a brand or some sort of sigil in her eye.” 

“What kind?” Rhea was right in front of Byleth now. The Archbishop had that same look in her eyes that Byleth had when the girl had mentioned Sothis. “Did it have a teardrop of some kind?”

“Uh yeah. With a stylized crescent underneath it, yeah.” 

Rhea sighed. She closed her eyes and looked up. After taking a deep breath, the Archbishop looked back to Seteth who looked pale. He looked like he was about to faint. “Seteth, write the official report on this incident but leave everything that was just said out of this. Byleth,” Rhea looked over her shoulder, straight into Byleth’s eyes. “Take me to this girl. Now.” 

“As you wish.” 

There was something about Rhea’s body language that sent shivers down Byleth’s spine as he led her to the infirmary. More than that, Seteth’s reaction to Byleth’s words was more than worrying. 

A sigh passed through his lips as he led Rhea through the courtyard. Nearly everyone they encountered stopped whatever it was that they were doing to stare at the bewitchingly beautiful Archbishop. 

He definitely should’ve just left the girl there.

_ Absolute not! _

‘Ah. There you are.’ Byleth said. Sothis then appeared beside him, floating, like always. ‘I was wondering where you were whilst I was dealing with the eccentric Archbishop and her disciplinarian of an aide.’

_ I’ll have you know that I was trying to figure out why that girl’s brand seemed so familiar to me! And seeing how Rhea over here reacted, I’m going to assume it’s very important. _

‘And I’m going to assume that you couldn’t figure out why either.”

_ Nope! _ The floating green-haired imp said with a smile Byleth let out a silent sigh to himself.  _ However once that girl awakens I imagine she’d be able to tell us. _

‘Who knows. Maybe if she told us she’d disappear forever.’ The Ashen Demon replied.

_ That’s ridiculous. Come on, think of something realistic. Like maybe that crystal is part of a set that controls reality, or something. _

‘Yeah? And that set needs to be in something, like say a shield to control? Now that’s ridiculous.’ Byleth, took a breath and stopped in front of a doorway in the infirmary. ‘Now, if you would excuse me, I have to speak to the Archbishop.’

_ Ooh, a private talk with the beautiful Archbishop.  _ The little gremlin snickered before vanishing. 

“Is this the room?” Rhea said, tapping on the wooden door. Byleth nodded.

“I wouldn’t expect much. She’s probably still asleep. Manuela said that she wouldn’t wake up until a week from now at the latest.”

“You said she had a crystal in her chest right?” Rhea opened the door. “I would ask you to change your mind.” 

Byleth entered the room and found Manuela standing at the foot of the girl’s bed, a befuddled look on her face. Instead of being wrapped from head to toe in bandages, or however else physicians treat someone that injured, the girl was sitting upright in her bed, still asleep. The blue crystal in her chest was now just a mere dim glow. 

“You’ve done a good job Manuela,” Rhea said, patting her on the shoulder.

“I…I only did the basics.” The Golden Deer’s professor said. “I went away for two seconds to get a drink and came back to find her already awake.” 

“Regardless, you did a good job. Now, if you would please, Byleth and I would like to have a chat with our guest here.”

Manuela sighed and took a swig from her flash. “Ugh. Okay. I’m not gonna question what just happened. At least that’s what tomorrow’s going to feel like.” She muttered, closing the door behind her. 

“She’s not going to be able to teach tomorrow,” Byleth said to Rhea. The Archbishop nodded as she took a seat next to the mystery girl. 

“We’ll have Jeritza fill in for her.” 

“She’s still sleeping, so you might be waiting for a bit.”

“No need.” Rhea shook her head. “The alcoholic doctor has left now. You can open your eyes.” 

The girl of mystery opened her eyes. They were a deep cerulean blue. What was most striking of course was the brand in her eye. A light smile formed on her face upon seeing Byleth.

“You’re the one who rescued me.” She said. The girl reached a hand out with the same arm that Byleth swore was burned beyond recognition just the other day. 

Byleth shook her hand. “I’m Byleth Eisner. One of the professors here at Garreg Mach Monastery.”

“Lucina.” She replied. “Now why would a religious institution need a professor armed to the teeth and wearing gear promoting death?”

“That, my dear, is because Garreg Mach Monastery is the place the future monarchs and nobles of this land are taught how to fight, how to strategize in battle and how to lead their armies in the future,” Rhea responded. “I am the Archbishop of this Monastery. You may call me Rhea.”

“Thank you for allowing me to stay here for a while lady Rhea,” Lucina responded shaking hands with Rhea as well. “I don’t want to intrude upon you for too long. I have…an important task I need to do. So as soon as I’m fully healthy I’ll be leaving.”

“Does this task have something to do with this Naga person?” Byleth voiced. Immediately both Rhea and Lucina turned their gazes to Byleth so fast it was like the string of a bow after firing an arrow. “Did I say something wrong?” 

“Where did you hear that name?” Lucina asked. Her brand almost seemed like it was flashing. 

“Yes. I would like to know that as well.” Rhea said, that same cold look in her eyes appearing as she stared Byleth down.

“Well, just before you passed out the other day, you mentioned something about a message from Naga.” 

_ Are you sure you shouldn’t mention my name? _

“Is that all I said?” 

Byleth nodded. “Yeah. You kept saying you had a message from Naga on the way back to the monastery.”

Lucina deflated and sunk into her pillow. The white streak in her otherwise perfectly blue hair seemed to be magnified in the god rays of the sun. “I see.” She turned to Rhea. “Based on your reaction, I assume you know who Naga is.” 

“That would be right. That’s a name I haven’t heard…” It was only for a minuscule second, but Byleth could see Rhea look at him from the corner of her eyes. “In years, I would gander. Decades even.”

“So you and Naga go way back?”

Rhea shook her head. “No, she and my mother did. I was only but a child the last time I saw Naga.”

“What was your mother’s relationship with Naga?” Lucina asked, her brand shining in the sunlight. 

“I don’t know,” Rhea said. “I don’t remember. But Naga…My mother had great respect for her.” 

“Is your mother…Sothis?” Lucina asked.

The temperature in the room dropped. Out of the corner of his eye, Byleth saw the aforementioned floating imp appear. Rhea stared at Lucina. A smile then formed on her face. “I guess you could say that. After all, she is the mother of all Fodlan. We are all her children.” Byleth could see Sothis roll her eyes at Rhea before sticking out her tongue and disappearing once more. 

“I see,” Lucina said, obviously disappointed. “Since you do have a connection to Naga and Sothis, I feel like you’re the best possible person to say this to.” 

“Of course. Any friend of Naga is a friend of mine.” 

Lucina looked out the window. “What I’m about to say may be hard to believe, so I’d like this to be a secret between the three of us.” She let out a deep sigh. “I’m not exactly, from here.” 

“I could gather that much,” Byleth said. 

“Not that like that.” Lucina continued. “It’s hard to explain really, without having misunderstandings.”

“She’s from another realm,” Rhea said. “An Outrealm to be exact. Another reality, to say the least.” 

“You seem to know an awful lot about this,” Byleth said, staring at the Archbishop.

“Of course I do. Aside from my…duty to the Goddess, finding a way to reach out to another realm has been something that’s always been on the back of my mind.” Rhea said. 

“I see.” Lucina leaned over to her bedside table and gulped down her glass of water. “Do you understand, Byleth?” She looked at him, sinking into her pillow. 

“Kind of yeah.” The idea of such a thing seemed almost foreign to him. Regardless, Byleth had dreamt of worse. “But what does this have to do with Naga?”

“Before she died, Lady Naga sent me here to find the Beginning. To find Sothis. She said that Sothis would be able to help me in defeating the Fell Dragon.” Rhea’s face paled. 

“Fell Dragon.” She said. A visible lump formed in Rhea’s throat as she swallowed. “I thought he was dead.”

Lucina laughed bitterly. “So did I. So did Naga. Now she’s dead. And now he’s coming to this realm as well.”

Rhea stood up, her chair crashed to the ground. A panicked look appeared in her eyes. “That’s impossible! Naga made it so that no divine dragon would be able to traverse the realms after the events of the Scouring.”

“That’s what I thought as well. But, Grima’s more than just a dragon.” Lucina responded. “He has a human vessel. And as a reminder, Naga is dead. I doubt that whatever restrictions she put down are still in place.”

Rhea had her hands on her head, eyes wide. “A human vessel. That shouldn’t be possible. And yet…” She looked back up to Lucina. “You’re positive that he’s coming here?”

“Absolutely. I wouldn’t worry just yet. Even if Grima can get here, his main body containing most of his power would still be stuck in his home realm for a while. Preparing for dimension travel is serious work. He probably won’t be here for at least a few years at the minimum.” Lucina said. “It took millennia just for Grima to find his perfect vessel. If everything goes right and we keep sabotaging his preparations, he may never be able to fully take over this world.”

“And if we kill him?” Byleth asked. Lucina laughed. 

“I’ve spent my entire life trying to kill him. I thought I had killed him once. And now he’s back in a form more powerful than before because of our premature celebrations. The way Grima is right now, he cannot be killed. At least, through conventional means.” 

“We’ll figure that all out once we know more about the situation,” Rhea said. “Right now you’re going to be staying here at the monastery.”

“No going out on a grand adventure eh? No Sothis?” Lucina said, sinking into her pillow.

“Sothis is dead,” Rhea said. 

Lucina blinked. “Oh. I see.” She looked down at her blanket-covered lap. “So how-”

“Dead. But not gone.” Rhea continued. “I believe there is a way to bring her back.” Again, Byleth saw Rhea’s eye flit quickly over towards him before going to Lucina. 

The messenger from another realm looked deep in thought. “I’ll have to do some more research here before we can make any preemptive moves. We have time on our side. Or, at least we should.” She leaned back into her pillow. “For now, we just have to wait.”

“What are you going to do after you fully recover?” Byleth asked as Lucina reached for her glass of water.

“I don’t know yet. I was going to go wandering around searching for someone dead. But as it turns out, I’m already at the best possible place to start looking.” 

“Then why don’t you stay here?” Rhea offered. “As it stands, Garreg Mach could always use more faculty. And it seems you have experience with combat.” She said, staring pointedly at the sheathed sword propped up against her bedside desk. 

“I guess you could say that.” Lucina smiled wryly. 

“Then it’s settled. Starting next week you’ll be employed here at Garreg Mach as an additional sword training.” Both Lucina and Byleth blinked. “Before the end of the week, I’ll be arranging a short duel between the two of you to get a good look at your abilities.”

"Wait, wait, what? Me? Teaching?" 

Before Lucina could say anymore, Rhea stood up. “I expect great things from one with exalted blood.” She left the room shortly after whilst both Byleth and Lucina stared at the door dumbfounded. 

Then Lucina laughed and sunk into the depths of her pillow. 

“How out the blue was that one?” She said to no one in particular. Her gaze then went over to Byleth. “So I’m going to ask something that may seem kind of crazy.”

“I don’t think anything you can say now will top what’s already been said.”

Lucina shrugged. “True, true. So, I’m not sure if I’m going crazy or not, but you didn’t mention at all how I mistook you for Sothis. Which, based on what Lady Rhea said, shouldn’t be possible. After all, Sothis is ‘the mother of all Fodlan’ she said. And as far as I can see, you’re a man.”

Byleth swallowed. “I didn’t think it was necessary to mention.”

The princess from another world frowned. “Why wouldn’t it be? Isn’t she the Goddess of this Realm?”

“Not really. As far as the people are concerned, the Goddess has no name. Or if she had one, then it was lost to time.” Byleth looked out the door. “I guess we know the name of the Goddess then huh?”

“How likely is it that Rhea is lying about what she said?” Lucina began. “About Sothis being the mother of all Fodlan rather than just herself. Kind of a cop-out.” 

Byleth sighed. “True. But right now I’m not in the mood for such deep thinking after all of the revelations today.” He eyed Lucina. “I suspect you’re the same?”

Lucina chuckled. “Yeah. That talk was kind of draining if I could be quite honest. And is she going to make me work here as a teacher? I’m in no way qualified for such a thing.”

It was Byleth’s turn to laugh. “You should’ve seen me. A mercenary my whole life just a few weeks ago and now here I am, teaching the future heir to a massive empire.” The two shared a short laugh. “Once you’re able to walk and you need someone to give you a tour of the monastery, hit me up.”

“Hit you up?” Lucina grinned. “Are you flirting with me Mr. Mercenary teacher?” 

He bowed as he backed up closer to the door. “If you seek to interpret my offer in that way.” 

Lucina’s laugh was still ringing in his ear as the fresh air of the monastery filled his lungs. Byleth took a deep breath and stared out into the Monastery’s fishing pond. 

“Well, looks like you were right Claude.” 


End file.
